1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a breast pump and gavage feeding apparatus and method and, more particularly, to a breast pump for the application of suction against the nipple portion of the breast while accommodating manipulation of the remainder of the breast accompanied by selective mechanical manipulation of at least the areola portion of the breast.
2. Prior Art
Breast feeding has declined in all the technologically advanced societies of the world during this century and is also declining in developing countries. This decline in breast feeding is viewed as alarming for its deletorious effects on child health and resultant adverse effect on domestic and national economies. Numerous and complex factors have contributed to this decline. Accordingly, greater attention should be directed to the advantages of breast feeding. Additionally, attention should be directed also the the numerous immunological advantages of providing a newborn infant with a suitable supply of colostrum.
Breast milk is uniquely adapted to the nutritional requirements of an infant and is distinctly superior to any substitute which has been devised by nutritional scientists. Additionally, breast milk is free of the hazards associated with artifical feeding, characterized in disadvantaged societies particularly by malnutrition and gastroenteritis, and in affluent societies by obesity, allergic disorders, and metabolic derangements including tetany and hyper-osmolar dehydration.
Breast milk and, more particularly, colostrum has been found to contribute directly to the infant's immunological adaption to extrauterine life. Colostrum is the thin, milky fluid secreted by the mammary gland a few days before or after parturition. Colostrum is characterized by containing many colostrum corpuscles and by a high protein and immune content. It is currently believed that if the colostrum can be collected either a few days before or within a few days after parturition and subsequently fed to an infant, the infant's immunological defenses will be substantially benefitted. Infants born prematurely and/or requiring some form of isolation treatment are, therefore, deprived of the opportunity to obtain the colostrum through suckling. Accordingly, a previously collected and stored supply of colostrum could be advantageously administered to the infant by conventional feeding techniques and/or gavage feeding techniques.
Numerous documents in recent years have particularly expressed the need for intensifying activities relevant to the promotion of breast feeding. Additionally, many authorities are convinced that breast milk is the best food for infants and that breast feeding constitutes the most effective safeguard against malnutrition and infection in infancy, particularly in disadvantaged communities. It has also been proposed that breast feeding be advanced internationally through educational activities, curtailment of promotion of artificial feeding, improved facilities for working mothers who breast feed, improved devices for extracting and collecting breast milk and colostrum for subsequent feeding and/or gavage feeding, and improved devices for accommodating stimulation of lactation during periods when infant suckling is inadequate to suitably stimulate the appropriate lactation. The conventional breast pump consists of a bell-shaped housing having a frustoconical surface terminating in a suction bulb connection. The base of the bell-shaped housing is configurated to receive a substantial portion of a breast while a suction bulb is used to impose a suction against the breast. A downwardly directed depression on the lower side of the bell-shaped housing serves as a reservoir for any milk extracted by suction from the breast.
To be useful in subsequent feeding operations, the milk thus collected must be poured into a suitable container such as a bottle or the like. Accordingly, milk collected by this technique is exposed to increased risk of contamination, spillage and the like. In addition, many women report that the rigid bell-shaped housing is uncomfortable, and in certain circumstances, painful to such a degree that further mechanical lactation with the device becomes impossible. Furthermore, the mere application of suction has been found to be inadequate for the purpose of suitably extracting breast milk. With the failure of the mechanical lactation techniques and inadequate or non-existant infant suckling, many women are discouraged from all further attempts at breast feeding.
In view of the foregoing, it would be a definite advantage in the art to provide a colostrum and/or breast milk extraction device which readily accommodates the stimulation and extraction of breast milk and, selectively, for subsequent conventional or gavage feeding of the collected fluids. It would be an even still further advancement in the art to provide a breast pump device which readily accommodates the manual manipulation and stimulation of the breast for improved lactation. Another advancement in the art would be to provide a breast pump apparatus wherein a plurality of interchangeable reservoir means for the purpose of adapting the extracted milk for storage and subsequent feeding. An even still further advancement in the art would be to provide a breast pump apparatus which readily accommodates a syringe-type reservoir for subsequent gavage feeding. Such an apparatus and method is disclosed and claimed in the present invention.